Reviews

Sweet and Clean Romance

Trifecta Books has a new romance line called Main Street Merchants which is part of the Sweet and Clean Romance Collection. Book one is And Something Blue by Paige Timothy.

Laurie Fletcher went to an Eastern Ivy League school to get a law degree, then changed her mind. With a business degree in hand she returns to her home town in Colorado to become the assistant manager of a busy bridal salon with dreams of one day owning her own shop. She loves helping brides find their perfect wedding dress, but wonders if she’ll ever find her own Prince Charming.

Brennan, a co-worker of one of her roommates asks her out, and at first she refuses to date him because he doesn’t interest her, but he’s a nice guy so she decides to give him a chance. She enjoys his friendship, but doesn’t feel any romantic interest in him. The man who makes her heart race and whom she can’t stop thinking about is Logan Reese, the arrogant brother of a customer. When her customer’s fiancé breaks their engagement, Laurie and Logan fight over the terms of the contract signed by his mother at the time her daughter ordered a custom designed dress. From there, they bump into each other frequently and always find something to fight about until Logan begins to pursue her and Laurie has to decide if she can trust him or her heart.

Laurie is a bright, ambitious young woman who is also a little on the klutzy side. She’s a likable character, but somewhat shallow. I found it difficult to see what she sees in Logan, who isn’t a particularly likable character. His change from an arrogant, pushy, know-it-all doesn’t feel like a real change of character as much as a matter of convenience to get what he wants. It would have helped me like him as the main character’s love interest if the author had revealed a few positive characteristics in his makeup early in the book.

The plot moves well and with the glimpses of the other main street merchants who make cameo appearances, it’s easy to see the characters who will be featured in future books in the series. The book is short, not much longer than a novella. The cover is pretty “run of the mill” for paperback romances. The setting and background show well the small town vacation atmosphere of a ski town. Both the language and the scenes of this story are clean. Readers who like light, fun romances without explicit sex scenes will enjoy this book.

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AND SOMETHING BLUE, Main Street Merchants Book 1 by Paige Timothy, published by Trifecta Books, approx. 108 pages, available for e-readers $2.99